[Penang] Dinner at Zalqa Middle-Eastern restaurant, Times Square

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Zalqa at Penang Times Square which opened back in May 18, 2024, has garnered quite a loyal following for its selection of Lebanese, Syrian and Yemeni dishes, done quite well in comparison to similar establishments in George Town.

It’s the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year today, which means that practically all of George Town’s roughly 500 Chinese restaurants are closed. So, one sees Indian, Malay and other types of restaurants in totally packed to the rafters with diners.

We opted for Middle-Eastern, and a friend suggested Zalqa. It was a very good rec - the food here surpassed even those at our erstwhile fave Middle-Eastern spot, Halab.

Our dinner spread:

Appetiser platter (clockwise from top-left): Baba Ghanoush (roasted eggplant), Moutabal (tahini, roasted eggplant, garlic, yoghurt), Muhammarah (red bell peppers, pomegranate molasses, walnuts), Hummus (chickpeas, tahini), and centre: Warak Enab (grape leaf rolls with rice-lemon juice stuffing.

Warak Enab - grape leaf rolls with rice-lemon juice stuffing, called dolma in Turkish cooking, and dolmades in Greek.

Kibbeh - the national dish of Lebanon and Syria, and renowned throughout the Levant, Middle East, and Mediterranean. It consists of dumplings made from fine bulgur wheat, onions, and seasoned with cinnamon, allspice, and cumin. The mixture is commonly stuffed with minced finely-ground lamb-meat, shaped into croquettes, and deep-fried.

Mixed grill, consisting of (left to right): Kafta (minced lamb with parsley, onion, spices), Lahem Meshwi (grilled lamb cubes), Shish Taouk (marinated chicken skewers), and Djej Mishwi (grilled chicken chops). Top: Kastaleta (grilled lamb chops) and bottom: Rubiyan Meshwi (grilled prawns). Served with Toum (creamy garlic dip).

Chicken Maqluba - baked chicken layered with rice, carrots and eggplants, seasoned with turmeric, cinnamon, and allspice, and served with sahawak (tomato-chile sauce) and yoghurt.

Dawood Basha - a Levantine classic of tender, spiced lamb meatballs simmered in a rich, aromatic tomato sauce, seasoned with cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and paprika. Served with pita bread.

Yemeni Chicken Mandi - baked aromatic chicken rice.

IMO, this place serves the tastiest Middle-Eastern fare in town at the moment.

Address
Zalqa Penang - Arabic Restaurant
77-G-20-22 & 61 -65, Penang Times Square, Jalan Dato Keramat, 10150 George Town, Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: +604-270 3750
Opening hours: 10am to 3am daily.

[Harters (John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)]

What an absolute feast.

Middle Eastern is my favourite “foreign” food, both when eating out and for cooking at home (I made muhammara at home for the first time a couple of weeks ago).

To the best of my knowledge, we’ve only got one Yemeni restaurant nearby and, to be frank, it looked very unsavoury so we’ve not been to eat. I think all the dishes you had are Lebanese/Palestinian/Syrian but were there specific Yemeni dishes on the menu?

We’re curious because Mrs H spent several years living in Aden as a child (her dad was a soldier stationed there). Her diet was very army/British and I’m interested to try the food she missed out on.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

@Harters

but were there specific Yemeni dishes on the menu?

We’re curious because Mrs H spent several years living in Aden as a child (her dad was a soldier stationed there). Her diet was very army/British and I’m interested to try the food she missed out on.

We did not really order much from the Yemeni section of the menu that evening, John.
Here are the Yemeni options - they seem to prefer stews and heavily spiced, pulled meats.

[Harters (John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)]

Thanks for that, Peter. The mention of stew reminds me of a story Mrs H tells. One day, her younger brother, aged probably about 3 or 4, went missing. A bit of panic naturally occurred and everyone went off searching for him. He was quickly found - round the back of the apartment block, enjoying lunch with a Yemeni family - stew and flatbread.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

@Harters

He was quickly found - round the back of the apartment block, enjoying lunch with a Yemeni family - stew and flatbread.

All’s well that ends well!
I’m wondering if the Yemeni family’s lunch was the ubiquitous saltah stew, the national dish of the country.

Saltah

The Yemeni flatbread - mulawah - is crisp and layered, very much similar to Indian paratha than other types of Middle-Eastern breads that we know of.